George Arnold   BALL

Born on 6 February 1868, George Ball was listed in directories as a schoolteacher at Crystal Brook from 1888 to 1892, after which he was listed as photographer as follows:

1893-1896  Ellen Street, Port Pirie
1897-1905  Port Pirie West
1906-1914+ Port Pirie

He was a partner of J.W. Fegan in the firm of Ball & Fegan, listed as photographers at Ellen Street, Port Pirie, in directories from 1895 to 1900, and was also associated with Ball & Co. at the same address from 1901 to 1902. One of his sons, Arnold Ball, a photographer who worked for the B.H.P. smelting company at Port Pirie, has told how his father liked photographing babies and would go anywhere ‘to shoot a child’. He has also described how Fegan taught his father photography and convinced him he should give up teaching to become a photographer. Fegan had ‘jumped ship’ at Port Pirie and been sheltered by the Ball family until it was safe to emerge from hiding.

During the 1930s George Ball moved to Adelaide where he managed a photographic studio. He died on 27 December 1948. It appears he had taken some photographs of a family reunion then returned home, developed the film and made some proofs, but died when he returned to the family gathering.